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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

So far I only have the one set of terrain, so there's going to be a lot of battling over Eldar Maiden worlds until I get around to making another terrain set.The target planet was beautiful. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Everything was pristine. The grass was a shade of green only seen in holo-projections. Holy Terra certainly did not look like this."Master Ammael." The words pulled the ponderous marine from his reverie. The voice came from the designated combat audio channel in his suit. "Your orders," rasped the tinny voice. It was not a question. It was not uncertainty. It was routine. Ritual."Brothers! You recall our briefing! The target lies on yonder hill." A large and monstrous structure of xeno design rose from a hilltop. "This tower is a sort of gate through the Warp. We are to deny the foul xenos of its privilege." There was a clatter of noise behind the imposing marine, as the squadrons he brought with him slammed armoured fists to their chests."Expect resistance." He smiled an eager smile.

My opponent deployed the Autarch attached to the Dire Avengers, starting in cover along her border. Farseer and retinue along her right side, also in cover. Curiously out in the open, her Wraithlord and Falcon. The Scorpions infiltrated on top of the objective.

Her Rangers deployed behind a small hill also along her right flank, about halfway up the board.

I had no infiltrators with me, so for the most part, my placement was in response specifically to the Wraithlord and the Falcon. Above, you can see most of my foot sloggers are on the opposite side of the objective's hill from both of her Heavy Support units, including my Venerable Dreadnought. My plan was to sweep the hill, focusing on the Scorpions then the Dire Avengers, taking apart her army one piece at a time while staying clear of the warlocks and Heavy Support.

The only exception to this was my Predator. I placed him behind this small hill outcropping, out of line of sight from both of her Heavy Support units.

First turn was mine.

Master Ammael spotted movement on the hill. "It is time, brothers. Move out!"Two of his tactical squadrons moved ahead of him towards the objective, half of one stayed behind in a smaller combat squadron positioned on a hill with a Plasma Cannon. Ammael's Command Squadron moved with him. One full Tactical squad. One split into two combat squads. The Plasma Cannon hung back on a hill. My Commander rolls with a full command squad, and an Interrogator-Chaplain.
First turn, I moved the Venerable Dreadnought mostly sideways. By next turn, he should be able to see around the center hill and start shooting at the Wraithlord.

The Predator moves up slightly and takes aim at the Eldar Falcon. Twin-Linked Lascannons score a Penetrating hit, resulting in an Armament Destroyed. No more Pulse Laser for you!

A loud crack echoes through the hills. The Predator has drawn first blood. The Dark Angels surged forward.

"Caution, my brothers! Haste and Recklessness are the ways of Chaos. These xenos will die by our carefully aimed Bolter fire!"Ammael heard a grunt from his left. "Why restrain them, Keeper of the Watch? Let the Emperor's fury course through them until the foul xenos taste of their own blood!" Brother Mordeus made a chopping motion with his crackling Arcanum.Interrogator-Chaplain Mordeus had an irritating habit of referring to the commander by his honorific. His pride probably won't allow him to use the word 'Master' when addressing someone else, Ammael thought."See, Keeper Ammael! The enemy hesitates!"Caution, Ammael. The Eldar are a devious foe, not to be taken lightly.
My opponent's Wraitlord returned fire on the Predator, immobilizing it. The remainder of her forces move forward, with the exception of the waiting Scorpions.
Turn 2 Dark Angels A loud, crackling discharge erupted from behind. The Dreadnought had opened fire on the Wraithlord. Another discharge heralded the squad-carrying Plasma Cannon opening fire on the Dire Avengers. Keep focus. Resolve. Control. The Scorpions stirred from their hiding place behind the Gate. "CLEANSE, Brothers!" Ammael bellowed. The marines let loose a hail of Bolter-fire. The Scorpions fall."Purge the vile xenos, Brothers! Destroy them to the last!" shouted Mordeus. The forward squadron engaged the Eldar in melee, chopping down the last of the Scorpions with combat knives and a Chainsword.Dreadnought fired on the Wraithlord to no effect. My Plasma-Cannon toting marine dropped 3 Dire Avengers from his vantage point on the hill.

The 5 man Combat Squad and Command Squad fired on the Scorpions, downing 4 of them. Combat Squad assaulted and finished off the last Scorpion and Exarch in a Massacre!

The immobilized Predator scored another Penetrating hit on the Falcon, destroying it.

Turn 2 Eldar
Dire Avengers and Autarch fire upon the Combat Squad (Bladestorm) but only brought down two marines.
Rangers fire upon the Command Squad, scoring only one casualty (thanks to the Apothecary) but no pinning.
Wraithlord hits the Predator, causing an Armament Destroyed. The now immobilized and Lascannon-less Predator sits useless for the rest of the game behind a hill.
Farseer Dooms the Combat Squad, vowing revenge.Turn 3 Dark Angels

Now it has begun, the battle is thickening. A sickening thud resounded nearby; one of Ammael's veterans had been taken out by sniper-fire. Ammael tapped his comm. "Taking sniper fire. Damocles, redirect fire to neutralize." "Affirmed, Master Ammael" came the deep, raspy voice of the entombed soldier piloting Damocles, the Venerable Dreadnought. Ammael turned his attention back to the xenos in front of him. He and his Battle Brethren loosed burst after burst of timed, practiced Bolter rounds into the enemy. The objective is mine. I will hold it.Dreadnought's Plasma Cannon scored 3 wounds on the Rangers, who promptly failed their morale test and started falling back. They never regrouped.

The full strength Tactical Squad circling around the hill as well as the Command Squad focused fire on the Dire Avengers, killing 5 of them.
For the Eldar Turn, my opponent held her ground and shot at the marines on the hill with all she had. The Wraithlord shot the Venerable Dreadnought, causing a Glancing Hit. Crew Shaken.

Turn 4 Dark AngelsWith the enemy whittled down before their eyes, Brother Mordeus sounded the charge. The Command Squad barrelled downhill into the remaining Dire Avengers. The enemy was quick, but the marines were spurred on by their Chaplain's rage. The fight quickly became a draw. Despite Master Ammael and Brother Mordeus both being involved, the Autarch danced around their weapons, making fools of both of them.

The 10-man tactical moves up onto the hill proper. Next round, they should be able to tear into the Farseer's retinue.

With the Dreadnought Shaken, my Plasma Cannon toting tactical marine takes a shot at the Wraithlord, to no effect. I find myself cursing its Toughness 8 many times this fight.

The assault of the Dire Avengers and Autarch come out pretty even, with 3 wounds scored on either side. Now, it's just the Autarch vs. Ammael, Mordeus and the Champion.

Turn 4 Eldar
Wraithlord shoots the Dreadnought again, another Glancing Hit. This time is 'Stunned.' He hangs back, staying within 6" of the warlocks, though.the warlocks unleash on the Combat Squad, taking down another marine.Assault is inconclusive.
Turn 5 Dark Angels
Both Tactical Squads rapid fire at the Farseer and his retinue, killing all the warlocks and causing the Farseer to take a wound.

The annoying xenos was too slippery, despite being set upon by three marines! Brother Mordeus roared with hatred, and landed a mighty blow with his Crozius Arcanum. The xenos faltered, then warped out, retreating to the trees. He took a wound, and rolled an 11 for a morale check, and so fell back to the tree-line."Coward!" roared Mordeus. Ammael smirked at the image of Mordeus spitting at the Eldar, only to have it hit the inside of his own face-plate.Turn 5 Eldar
The Autarch regroups easily, fires off a shot from the Fusion Gun, but misses.
The Farseer, now that the Command Squad is unengaged, uses Mindwar on the Chaplain, causing 2 wounds.
Wraithlord shoots at Dreadnought and misses.

Turn 6 Dark Angels

Now that the Dreadnought is no longer 'Shaken' he moves forward, shooting off his Plasma Cannon and wounding the Wraithlord.
The Tactical Squads bring to bear their firepower on the Farseer, who falls to the shower of exploding bolts.Brother Mordeus faltered with pain, then suddenly steadied himself. "Vile aliens!" he screamed, lurching forward. Ammael caught his arm. "Your pistol, Brother! Don't let him outsmart you!" Ammael and what was left of his Command Squad held their ground at the objective border, firing on the Autarch from a short distance. His mocking image danced among the trees, warping to and fro; their guns hit nothing.On the other side of the hill, Dreadnought Damocles lumbered towards the Wraithlord. Having taken multiple hits, the machine lurched forwards at an incredible rate easily closing the distance. A shot from the Plasma Cannon was a direct hit! The pilot grinned. Today was going to be a good day.Damocles slammed into the Wraithlord, knocking it slightly off-balance. His crushing claw reached forward, talons connecting with ... nothing. The Wraithlord nimbly moved aside. The pilot watched as the monstrosity's large glowing sword swung around in an arc and he quickly moved to deflect the blow. Claw collided with Wraithsword with a deafening clang. A glint of metal shot by the pilot's view. His sensors indicated he had lost a talon. Again he reached for the creature to no avail. The thing was simply too quick. It stepped around him again, and he heard the sound of slicing metal. His sensors blared. The Powerplant had been critically damaged. He had a second to live.Time seemed to slow down. The second stretching into a long, long pause. Damocles was no more. It was only the old war veteran inside. His life culminated to this moment, Death stood before him with a gleaming soulstone on his forehead. He grimaced. A sick grin spread across his face, and he piloted Damocles to it's last action: hold onto the Wraithlord.The explosion was deafening. Ammael looked to the west to see a plume of fire and shrapnel. Damocles was no more, but it appeared he went out taking the Wraithlord with him. Wait. No. The construct of bone lumbered out of the smoke, damaged, but still operational. Cursed xenos luck.

So yeah, the Dreadnought didn't cause any damage in the actual assault, but was killed instead! Vehicle Exploded! was the result, and my only satisfaction was that the Wraithlord itself took a wound from the resulting explosion. Damn that thing's hard to kill!Turn 6 Eldar
My opponent by this time has pretty much realized that the game is mine, but she made a few last ditch attempts at some more victory points. The Wraithlord tried to finish off the sitting duck Predator, but misses.
The Autarch charges into close combat.In what seemed like a last act of arrogance, the Autarch leapt forward towards the Command Squad. A low, grotesque laugh started to emenate from Mordeus. His wish was coming true. Ammael, on the other hand, had been studying this one since the first assault. He's slippery and cunning.A flurry of blows from the Autarch came to no avail, as well as returning attacks. Ammael bided his time and awaited the inevitable cheap shot coming his way. It came. Arrogant. A quick side-step and BANG!The xenos commander fell lifeless to the floor. Ammael's Bolt-Pistol held to the alien's head, ready to shoot again should he move. "Orbital Base, this is Master Ammael of the Third Company, Keeper of the Watch. Objective is secured. Begin Phase 3.""Affirmative, Keeper." The tinny voice came over the comm.

It was a very enjoyable game. Dark Angels won with a Crushing Victory.
Wraithlords are tough as nails. Damn!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Wraithlords are psychic constructs of bone piloted by the spirit of a particularly powerful Eldar's Spirit Stone. Basically, they're the walking dead. With this in mind, I approached painting this model to be as ethereal as possible. A lot of the pieces were highlighted as if bottom-lit as opposed to a standard lighting scheme, to give a hint of 'weird' or 'other-worldly.' Also, the blade itself is a Wraithsword, an entity powered by its own spirit-stone. The sword acts like it has a mind of its own, and as such I gave it a slightly different color-scheme to make it stand out. I liked the effect of the pinkish fade on the box art for the model itself, and decided to go with a similar (but green) effect for mine.

As with most of the Eldar, I wanted this model to be as specialized as possible role-wise. I've seen a few 'lords modeled up with just guns, and I can appreciate using them in that way ... but I can't justify to myself NOT taking advantage of the model's Strength 10. Strength 10, people. Give him a Wraithsword, and he's now allowed to re-roll failed to-hit rolls. This sets him up perfectly to be a great anti-tank and anti-independent character. Strength 10 means most characters will get insta-killed. To keep him in this role, yet increase his efficiency, I've also equipped him with a Brightlance. Now, he can shoot at the same targets while he tromps over towards them.

A disadvantage of the Wraithlord is his 'wraith-sight.' The chances are small, but if he's not near a warlock/farseer, he could possibly sit and do nothing for a turn. I plan on having a squad of 10 Wraithguard accompanied by a Spiritseer in this army, and they would be the perfect squad to slog along with. Failing that, there is the Farseer himself with his retinue that he can follow around.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

I've fleshed out the bone color, as well as a few other details. First and foremost, I decided I wanted a large soulstone on the face-plate, so I made one real quick out of green stuff. Also, I liked the pinkish fade they included on the box art for the Wraithlord's sword. It was for a Saim-Hann Wraithlord and it gave the blade a kind of ethereal feel to it, like it was alive ... and that's exactly what I wanted to do (without the pink, of course).

Only things left to do are the cape-tabards and to slap some runes on him and call it a day.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

I finished the Blue Highlights on the hand and other leg. After which, I took some watered down regal blue to attack the layered look that I didn't like. It's supposed to fade, but it came out weird. The wash worked for the most part, so I continued that strategy with a watered down Enchanted Blue for the lighter areas, and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I think the blues are done.

I also quickly laid down a basecoat in Bestial Brown for the areas I want to be bone/yellow before passing out from exhaustion (I caught a nasty flu).

Friday, January 18, 2008

Having mostly caught up with where I'm at painting-wise, and being a relatively slow painter, I find that I may need to explore other avenues for posting fodder.

My solution: The Workbench. Pics of progress I'm making on current projects. I hope you find any of this useful/interesting.

Above, my actual workbench. It was actually made by my father-in-law in shop class as a desk for his own hobby. He built it higher than a normal desk so he wouldn't be hunched over it. He gave it to me when we moved into the new townhouse. It's in the garage next to my trusty mini-fridge and dusty Bow-flex (a beam pokes into frame on the right). See dad, it's put to good use!

A peek inside one of the desk's shelves. This is where my old retired models go. I'm too sentimental to get rid of them, which turns out to be a good thing. They're handy for parts.

A closeup of the desk. You can see the entire contents of the Ork Spearhead box already assembled and set for primer, as well as a line of Thousand Sons, a Chaos Rhino, and some Tyranids in the back. Also, see that beige model in the back there next to the cup? It's an old Leman Russ model that I'm slowly converting into an Ork Looted Wagon. More on that later.

Here's the current project; an Eldar Wraithlord. Being Alaitoc, I'm painting him up in the traditional blue/yellow scheme. I'm going for a strange fade effect on his armor, making it almost look bottom-lit. It should end up giving the model an eerie spirit-like look. I modeled him with a Wraithblade and a Bright Lance. As you can see, I opted to put the Lance on the back of one arm. All of the Tabards are arranged in the back, to look like a kind of cape.

I'm almost done with the blue areas. last highlights still need to be applied on it's right leg and some of it's right hand.

Here's a closeup of the head. I wanted at least some of it to have the cool camo-mottled effect I've been dabbling the other models with, and this seemed the best place for it. Also, see that black plate on his face? It's actually the Wraithlord's cod-piece. You heard me. My Wraithlord wears his crotch on his face. That's how he rolls.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Wow, these guys took me a long long time to finish. That's mostly my own fault for putting so many trinkets and details on them, but hey ... they're Deathwing. c'mon.

The longest and most tedious part was getting the bone color just right. I had to basecoat them in Bestial Brown, then add two layers of Bleached Bone (second one slightly mixed with water) to get it creamy enough. Some areas took a third coat. Most of the trinkets were pulled from the 'Dark Angels Command Squad' box's leftovers. The DA specific Assault Cannon, for example, was in the Command Squad box, as well as some of the DA specific shoulder-shields and the Sergeant's power sword (which is much larger than the standard one they send you in the termy box). The shoulderpads I got from Forgeworld. Basically, I tried my very best to make them look amazing and not 'your average run-of-the-mill terminator. They're Deathwing. This turned out to be a double-edged sword as I found myself with quite the job ahead of me, but looking back ... it was worth it. I'm really pleased with them. That power-sword on the Sergeant is by far the best looking power sword I've ever painted. It looks exactly like I wanted it to, a sword with bluish energy coursing through it looking like a cross between lightning and fire.

Deathwing are the best of the best. Not just any Space Marine veteran can become a member of the Deathwing. They need to be trusted enough to know the secret shame that plagues the Dark Angel Chapter. The Chief Librarian Ezekiel reads a nominee's mind to determine whether or not this person can handle the truth, and if they can be trusted with it. If he passes, he's let in. If he fails, he's mind-wiped and made into a servitor, already knowing too much. In essence, the Deathwing are the REAL Dark Angels, for the rest don't even know about the Fallen.

Terminators have a 2+ Armor save, with a 5+ invulnerable incase the first is negated. Add to this both a close combat weapon and a ranged weapon, and they're useage is clear. While the option is available to ONLY have close combat weapons, I opted not to go this route since the rest of the army is themed for balance. I intend to teleport these guys in via my Ravenwing bike squadron, which means they can't assault first turn anyways. ...but they can shoot! Each one comes with a Storm Bolter. 24" Assault 2. One was upgraded to an Assault Cannon. Everyone except the Sergeant has a Power Fist. That means they're hitting with Strength 8. Ridiculous.

With these guys painted, I'm so very close to finishing my first Army goal of 3,000 points. I have half of my third Tactical Squad to paint, and 3 Landspeeders for my Ravenwing Support Squad. ... then I'll be able to call them "done." This doesn't mean I never revisit them, just that I've reached a goal. I'm already playing with the idea of changing my Chaplain to have a Power-Fist ... but I'm going to do some play-testing before I make a decision like that.

... next up on the workbench, I'm taking a short break from the Space Marines to paint up the new Eldar Wraithlord I bought last week ... then I'll probably finish off the DA.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

I got the new Orks codex for Christmas. Over all, I'm very pleased with it.

Codex

There are lots of options for customizing this army how you would want it, actually more than were in the previous.

They brought back the Weirdboyz, allowing you to take a psyker with two tiers of power; a normal Weirdboy or a Warp-head. Their abilities are quite powerful, but ultimately unpredictable ... just how I would want an Orks psyker.

Shokk Attack Gun makes a comeback as well. This is one of my favorite parts in the book. Given to a Big Mek, it teleports a snotling through the warp and (hopefully) into the armored suit of your target. As with the Weirdboyz, this has a chance of going horribly wrong. Just reading the descriptions of the possible horrendous side-effects of this gun make me laugh. I'm definitely bringing one along in my Evil Sunz army. (already have the model)

Deffkoptas also come back. These, for all intents and purposes, are jetbikes. JETBIKES. That means they can move in the assault phase even if not assaulting! [EDIT]Not the case, as I originally thought. The 6" move in the assault phase is specific to Eldar jetbikes. Your Saim-hann are safe for now, Fritz! ;P [/EDIT] Each one comes equipped with a twin-linked Big Shoota! That's a 36" range S 5, Assault 3 Twin-Linked gun on EACH! They also have the amusing ability to drop bombs. I can place a template anywhere along the line I moved in my movement phase as the bomb target. This will be fun.

Stikkbombas are gone. Well, not really. Instead, you have the ability to equip a mob of Boyz, 'Ard Boyz, Nobz, etc with Stickbombs for a few extra points. In essence, they're there.

There's a limit on 'Ard Boyz. One mob/army.

MegaNobz is it's own Elites unit. It's a mob of Nobz in Mega-Armour.

There is some flexibility in the army list that I really, really like. I tend to like getting as much as much variety as possible when putting together a 3,000 point army list. This way, when I am going to a 1,750 pt. game (for example) I can try many different combinations of units in order to find out what works best in what situation. So, if you have a Warboss as one of your HQ choices, you can take ONE unit of Nobz as a Troops selection. Also, if you have a Big Mek as one of your HQ choices, you can take ONE Deff Dread as a Troops selection.